1. Technical Field
The present application relates to a beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage material having a filling element and a filling machine having such filling elements.
2. Background Information
A beverage bottling plant for filling bottles with a liquid beverage filling material can possibly comprise a beverage filling machine with a plurality of beverage filling positions, each beverage filling position having a beverage filling device for filling bottles with liquid beverage filling material. The filling devices may have an apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined volume of liquid beverage filling material into the interior of bottles to a substantially predetermined level of liquid beverage filling material. The apparatus designed to introduce a predetermined flow of liquid beverage filling material further comprises an apparatus that is designed to terminate the filling of the beverage bottles upon the liquid beverage filling material reaching the predetermined level in bottles. There may also be provided a conveyer arrangement that is designed to move bottles, for example, from an inspecting machine to the filling machine. Upon filling, a closing station closes the filled bottles. There may further be provided a conveyer arrangement configured to transfer filled bottles from the filling machine to the closing station. Bottles may be labeled in a labeling station, the labeling station having a conveyer arrangement to receive bottles and to output bottles. The closing station and the labeling station may be connected by a corresponding conveyer arrangement.
The prior art describes open-jet filling systems or filling machines that have advantages from the hygienic and microbiological points of view and in which there is no contact between the respective container or its container mouth and the filling element, i.e. during the filling process the container to be filled with the liquid being bottled is located with its container mouth underneath the dispensing opening of the respective filling element, but with its container mouth at some distance from the filling element.
In such systems, the amount of liquid dispensed can be controlled by means of a volume measurement or weighing system, for example, in which case the respective container can be positioned underneath the dispensing opening of the filling element on a container carrier that is not equipped for vertical movement. However, systems that can perform the volume measurement and weighing systems are complex and expensive.
In such open-jet filling systems, if the filling level is to be controlled by means of economical electrical probes with probe contacts, it is necessary during the filling process for the respective probe to extend through the mouth of the container into the interior of the container. To make that possible, the prior art has always required elevation components for the container carriers to raise and lower the containers.